SURPRISE. Drum roll please. I present to you HERE'S TO YOU FRIDAY. With love. I bet you are thinking that this post is NEVER going to land on a Thursday again. Or be weekly again. It might not. I am having difficulty getting my stuff together. I can only say that I hope *someday* that it becomes a weekly Thursday post. Until then, it is just a surprise post. And we are all just grateful. Or I hope we are. Anyway, here it is. XOXOXO.
Here is the recap of what is going on...
This used to be a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. It is my hope that it will be a weekly event again some day... The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.
Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.
You want to know the truth? I am tired of political posts on Facebook. Heck, I am tired of political posts everywhere. I think most people have their minds made up and anything you say isn't going to change it. All you are going to do is make someone angry. And yet, I cannot stop posting because this is THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF MY LIFETIME.
And then I think about that Eminem quote about people being mad at you. His response is, "Well good. At least at means you stood for something." You didn't sit in a corner too afraid to say anything because you might hurt someone's feelings. You didn't live to be so politically correct that you didn't want to offend your whole life. And I think, "Yeah, that is what I think makes him so damn hot." I don't agree with his every thought. Action. Definitely not every action. In fact, I don't think he does either. But he OWNS everything. I gotta respect that. And I don't think he cries in his milk when someone unfriends him on Facebook. Or if he had a blog I don't think he would lose sleep if he lost a follower. Oh well.
Real friends stick even if they disagree with every single word you say. They respect the crap out of you for saying it. It's like the song Drops of Jupiter. They might think you're wrong, but they have your back. And they are just glad you have the backbone to stand up. Because everyone someday is going to have to stand up. Maybe sooner than you think.
I am not going to ramble on much longer because I have an excerpt for you from someone who explains this much better than I can. But, this is just the tip of the iceberg as to why I feel our current President does not have OUR best interests at heart. Please understand that I don't think ANY OTHER PRESIDENT could get away with what he is doing. He has our social media wrapped up and reporting the news just the way he wants it. We are being fed the news he wants us to hear. And anytime any other version comes out, those people are portrayed as crazy or extremists or something else anti- or ugly.
This is from Michelle Malkin's book Culture of Corruption. She is clearly not racist (she is a minority) or anti-women (she is a woman). However, she is one of the few people courageous enough to speak up and call a spade a spade. Watch her on YouTube. She is impressive as all get-out. This is from her book:
"But the most glaring example of the Obama culture of corruption, and the clearest evidence that Hope and Change is hazardous to your personal well-being and welfare, can be found in the $60 billion White House payoff to Big Labor in exchange for its support for Obama's health care takeover plan. In mid-January 2010, the White House convened backdoor meetings with Democratic leaders, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern, and United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger. Outside the view of C-SPAN cameras, which Obama had so ostentatiously, repeatedly, and falsely promised to install at every health care policy negotiation, the special interest groups cut a deal to exempt union members from a massive 40 percent excise tax on high-priced health insurance premiums.
The excise tax kicks in for everyone else in 2013. While the law squeezes middle-class taxpayers, employers, investors, and drug-makers to subsidize expanded government health care, the Big Labor Cadillac tax exemption gives union members who belong to any health plan that is part of a collective-bargaining agreement immunity until 2018. State and local government employees who belong to unions will also be spared. As the Wall Street Journal editorial board put it succinctly: "The 87% of Americans who don't belong to a union will now foot the bill for a $60 billion giveaway to those who do."
And you can bet those union lobbyists will spend the next eight years lobbying to ensure that the "temporary" exemption never ends. ...
Connecting this raw deal to the parallel dirty deals hammered out on Capitol Hill to force the Obamacare package through, National Review editor and syndicated columnist Rich Lowry put the payoff in perfect perspective: "This Labor loophole stands in the finest tradition of the Louisiana Purchase and the Cornhusker Kickback. With no possible public-policy justification, it puts the awesome power to tax and spend at the service of nakedly political ends. Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said that taxes are the price of civilization. In this case, taxes are the price of not belonging to a group that pours countless millions of dollars into the Democratic coffers."
This is just ONE reason that I cannot vote for this man. Michelle Malkin has written an entire book citing enough things that this man has done to make a person physically ill. There isn't a single promise that hasn't been broken. That is made all the more crushing since he came riding in on the white horse. I think the people expected more. I mean, we all know politicians lie. But this guy was Hope and Change. Not more of the same... and even worse.
If you are tired of being force fed what the media is cramming down your throat, read Michelle Malkin's book. Open your mind to what is actually going on. This is the most important vote you will ever cast. Romney will repeal Obamacare, and that is moving Forward. The 87% don't know it yet, but they will thank you later.
I thank you for listening. And I know that you will post your comments with grace and respect. Because that is just who you are.
You have probably been wondering why it has taken so long for me to post the Train concert rewind.
Well, it has been a bit difficult for me to wrap my head around it. That is honest.
I saw them a couple of times in 2004-2005 when they were on the road promoting their record, My Private Nation. The first time it was a total accident and I totally fell in love with them. The second time they were with Natalie Merchant and Smash Mouth and it was totally planned. That was just a trifecta of wonderful and I was already head over heels for Train.
They released several more records since My Private Nation. That means more hits. More songs. And they went into this tour in a completely different space. They headlined. They weren't opening or in the middle. I didn't think about what all of that would mean. There are always trades. The bigger you get, the more you lose. I know that you should get more, but you don't. It always works in reverse. You get more showy stuff like lights and big screens, but you lose time. You have more songs to sing and less time. Things have to go.
And that wonderful repartee that you used to get to enjoy with your audience... well, you don't have time for that anymore, either. You are on a freakin' clock. Too many songs. Not enough time.
What I felt in 2004-2005 was how much Train loved the performance. Pat is a funny, funny guy. He is also this serious guy who can write a song that will make you cry your eyes out. In other words, you can feel EVERYTHING in an hour (or two). You will, laugh, cry, and laugh again. Plus just drown in the beauty of the words. They are so good you don't need a light show or big screens to sell them. You just need Pat to talk to the audience. It is his opening the window to the soul of the band and giving the audience a peek in.. and it leaves everyone breathless for that moment in time. That is the moment that is worth the entire ticket price. Everything else is gravy.
So, when someone understands how to captivate an audience.... it does create magic when it happens... and I have lived through it twice.... why would you stop doing it?
California 37 is a brilliant album. It is their best work since My Private Nation. Save Me, San Francisco has moments of grace on it, but it fumbles. Like My Private Nation, California 37 is listening pleasure beginning to end. They got lost, but Train found their way again. And I was beyond happy for them:-)
So, things get cut in this new concert setting. That was one thing I just had to wrap my brain around. They didn't play my favorite songs. They truncated some and left out others entirely. Boo Hoo. They didn't have time. And Pat was somewhat chatty with the audience, but he was off. It was mostly song to song and we are outta here. Clap clap clap. Come back for the mandatory two song finale. And now we are really done. All with big lights and big screens. It was dizzying and not in the best way. Pat sang his heart out. Musically, it rocked. I can't say I didn't get my money's worth. I just didn't get my window. I didn't get my laugh, cry, laugh again moments. And if I had never had them, I wouldn't have known I was missing anything.
Today I read Pat's blog. I realize I haven't been keeping up. What people are saying to him is getting to him. The negativity is wearing him down. People aren't getting his humor. And that is a damn shame, because he is hilarious. So that is probably why he is cutting back on joking around between songs, because he doesn't want the negative feedback. And he doesn't want to open a window into his life, because that is just asking for negative feedback (right?). People and their negative feedback are taking the Meaningful out of Train concerts. You throw a bunch of crapola on someone and they stop giving you ammunition. It's called self-preservation.
I couldn't respond to your blog, but I would have said you are allowing other people to dictate how you feel about yourself. You are a wonderful person. Please stop doubting yourself. You are not breaking anyone or anything. You always do the best that you can. Always. The only thing you are doing wrong now is not listening to your internal voice. You are not being you. I will explain this more as I go...
I used the link-in feature so that you could go direct to his blog if you wanted to do any other reading on your own. If you figure out how to comment, let me know. I am a total dweeb about these sorts of things.
One of the other comments he makes in a totally different blog is how hundreds of people can say how much they love him and one person's obnoxious hateful comment is the one that sticks. Doesn't that just suck? Why do we do that to ourselves? Hear all of the "you are wonderfuls" with a sort of "okay, if you say so" approach, but those "you suck" comments really hit in the heart. We believe that. Why is that? He was also talking about how people were targeting his sense of humor and really being ugly about it. He didn't say that he has since stopped talking on stage, but I know that he has really toned it down. He doesn't feel free to be himself. The haters are winning.
And there is the Catch 22 of stardom. The more you have, the more you can lose. When you don't have anything, you have nothing to lose. Back in the beginning, the haters didn't stop him. He didn't have a light show. He wasn't headlining. He didn't have big screens. Train wasn't rolling so hard. The faster you roll, the bigger you can crash. The flip side is that the faster you roll, the harder you can squash those little turds bullies with mouths that won't shut the fuck up. (If I just offended you, I am so thankful we got that over with, because it was bound to happen sooner or later. Now we can move on... because I always call it like I see it. And that was how I see it.)
So, Pat and the rest of Train, I hope that you read this and let Train start rolling again as AWESOME as it ever was, and even better than I can imagine. I just answered your 411. Give them hell. Be yourselves. It will solve ALL OF YOUR PROBLEMS. In case you forgot, this is who you are:
as for the image... that is me pre-Train concert 9/7/12.
Funny how you can have great intentions and they can just get shot straight to someplace else. Well, that is what you call LIFE, I think.
Oh well.
Let's get back to California 37 and Train. Can you believe that the concert is only two days away? Me either.
I am absolutely ready for it. It is going to be outside, so I am really hoping that the weather cooperates. Last time I checked there was only 30% chance of rain, so that is good. And it has been cooling down in the evenings... another plus. So, I have fingers, toes, and anything else that is crossable... crossed.
Okay, let's get down to the music. I do believe that I referenced a blog or two back that the band did figure out what the problem was for their lack of ongoing success after they achieved success. In other words, just having a couple of great songs doesn't mean that you will continue to put out great songs. I think that there is a lot of pressure once you have made it to continue to make it. Before you make it, you can write whatever you want. After you make it, everyone seems to have an opinion about your music. And that is aside from the fans.
I found what Pat had to say during this studio session very enlightening.
Let's listen to the whole thing...
If if made you think of Billy Joel's song We Didn't Start The Fire at first listen, you are not the only one. Of course, the listing of events is the only thing those two songs have in common. BJ's song spans decades and isn't remotely personal. Train's song is an intimate look at Pat's life. I look at the timeline of it and I see that at various times there was hopelessness there. Gaping hopelessness. Couldn't you feel it? He even says "this is the time I felt most alone."
I love these kinds of songs because he is offering the entire spectrum of his life to date. There was some terrible places, black places, with sunlight filtering in here and there. However, he kept going and then KABOOM... the universe rewarded all of his tenacity with bounty. Train took off. Train crashed and burned. Train took off again. His marriage crashed and burned, but finally he met the true love of his life in 2004, and it was true and good, and he finally felt at home. The lesson is that you can quit at any time on the timeline, but if you do, you won't get the reward.
So, Journey has the right of it DON'T STOP BELIEVING. And so does Train because MAYBE THIS WILL BE YOUR YEAR.
This is another song I just really like off of the new album. They didn't create a Studio Session for it. And it hasn't been deemed radio worthy... yet. But, it is one of my personal favorites.
If I go before I say to everyone in my ballet
Let me take this chance to thank you for the dance If I run out of songs to sing to take your mind off everything Just smile, sit a while with the
Sun on your face and remember the place we met Take a breath and soon I bet you'll see Without you I would never be me You are the leaves of my family tree
Sing together If you knew me from the very start, Or we met last week at the grocery mart Just sing together It's the least that I can do My final gift to you Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oooo
When I'm past the pearly gate, I will find some real estate Where we can settle down and watch the world go round We'll send down all the love we got and let them know we got a spot For them to be and it's all free,
The sun on your face and remember the place we met Take a breath and soon I bet you'll see Without you I would never be me You are the leaves of my family tree
Sing together If you knew me from the very start, Or not at all you're still a part, just Sing together It's the least that I can do My final gift to you Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oooo Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oooo
So, let's all sing together. If you knew me from the very start, or not at all you're still a part of it all. It's the least that I can do.
Well, I am late getting started with my next post in this series.
I have actually had a busy day.
Went with a friend to see The Dark Knight Rises. Wow. What an awesome movie. I refuse to accept that it is the last one. Christian Bale absolutely must make another Batman movie. They lined up the dominoes so perfectly for the next movie that they cannot NOT make it. It is just unacceptable. Joseph Gordon-Levitt knocks it out of the park in everything he does. Seriously, this guy is seriously starting to make me really like him. As in he might get added to my Cannot.Miss.Anything.He.Does List. That is a tough list to get on, but he has worked overtime to get there. And he has sold me. Or maybe I am owned. Not sure how that one works. Whatevs. And Anne Hathaway shocked me with her dazzling performance, too. Everyone was just spot-on terrific. This movie just nailed it all the way around. Now, if the real life crazy people would just stay at home, the world would be a perfect place. Big sigh. Moving on....
Then we met up with friends for some dinner and karaoke. In honor of the Train concert this Friday, I sang some Drops of Jupiter. I can't say that it is my best singing performance, but I can pull it off with enthusiasm. Woot.
Now, on to some more stuff off of California 37. I just read on the message boards on YouTube that someone had seen them in concert and they performed this song. Pat apparently said at that concert that this song is something of a continuation on a theme to Drops of Jupiter. By the time the song was over the whole place was in tears, or so says the person who left the comment. I can believe it.
Here is the Studio Sessions clip of You Can Finally Meet My Mom. It is only a couple of minutes. However, I love these clips. They are so revealing about the song and the band.
Okay, let's listen to the song in its entirety.
I can see right now that I better pack some tissues for this concert because I am going to lose it on that song. I know me and the floodgates are going to OPEN WIDE. I can't listen to it right here without crying like a little girl.
If you are now sitting there thinking, but I know Drops of Jupiter. Okay, maybe I only thought I knew Drops of Jupiter. What am I missing???? You want to hear it again. Am I right? If that was Drops of Jupiter 2, what did you miss about Drops of Jupiter (1), because you weren't pulling out your hanky as you drove down the expressway when you heard it the first, second, third, and fourth times???? Well, let's take another listen...
And there it is. That soul vacation that I liked to imagine was one to Jamaica or Hawaii was a bit more permanent, wasn't it? Hence all the references to sailing across the sun, falling from shooting stars, etc. And then there are the questions. Did the wind sweep you off your feet? Is heaven overrated? And, most important of all, do you miss me????? And let's whip out the tissues because the crying has started again. I think I might not be able to karaoke that song anymore. It may be joining the long list of things I can no longer sing, because I just start bawling like a baby midway through. I don't have that capacity to separate myself from the song no matter how many times I have heard it. I am unable to build up an immunity.
So, today we are looking at the softer side of Train. Yesterday was all about telling your truth even when it might hurt someone else. It was also about having a little bit of fun. Today, we went on a Soul Vacation.
Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken Your best friend always sticking up for you... even when I know you're wrong Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance, Five-hour phone conversation The best soy latte that you ever had... And me
When it's my time, I am definitely going to be hopping a shooting star. You can count on it. What kind of Soul Vacation would it be without riding a star?
image found on facebook... again where I spend way too much time
Here's the deal, peeps. It just smacked me right upside the head that my long awaited concert is next Friday. As in less than a week away. Yes, Train is coming to Atlanta next Friday night. I am so totally and completely psyched. I got out my IPod this afternoon, put California 37 on shuffle, and soaked it in... again. Man, I love that album.
While I was listening, I said to myself, "Robin, you have seriously got to share the deliciousness that is this album with your blog friends. So many people are still in the dark about how awesome Train is. If you start today and post at least one song off the album every day, you can cover a good many songs before C-Day (Concert Day)." So, I decided to go for it.
Then, I had to decide what to choose and why. These are always the hardest choices. Every song on this album is so revealing about Train in different ways. Stylistically, they are all a bit different, which I totally love. Don't you hate listening to a singer or band and come away thinking that every song sounds exactly the same? No chance of that with this band. They really dug deep and found their sound, which is totally unique, but not remotely the same as any other song on the album. I love that.
The other thought that kept running through my head was how honest Pat was in so many of these songs. Pat is the lead singer and does a lot of the writing, for those of you not in the know. Some of that honesty was so raw that it reminded me of another favorite singer (can I bring up Marshall Mathers and not have this become an MM post????). When you live in the spotlight and decide to write about your life, it means writing about other people. Period. And the people who were crappy to you end up not looking so good. If those people are your exes and still wield some power over you because you share kids, you have to decide whether or not you or going to live in fear of them or not. Or are you going to tell your story with fearless truth and courage? And then let the chips fall as they may. I have to say that I respect someone who steps up and lets it fly.
Anyway, this is not the first cut off the album. It isn't even a particularly long song, but I feel taps the attitude of the album very well, so I think it is a good place to BEGIN.
Knock knock, who's there? 2012 is a brand new year Cleaning house, singing songs Shedding light and righting wrongs Ding dong the witch ain't dead She's still trying to take my bread Four more years 'til my girls all grown Then the b*tch gotta have to leave me alone It's all good 'cause I'm as happy as a flea On a mountain of dogs you see A little music cured all the hurt and put hate in six feet of dirt
I was looking for some heaven There's no need to look no more California 37 Took me right to heaven's door Knock knock, woah oh Rock and Roll California 37 took me right to heaven's door
Here's to those who didn't think Train could ever roll again You were the fuel that I used when inspiration hit a dead end San Francisco got it done 415 took the 911 Thank you all for believin' in We won't let you down again Truth is, it was attitude Replaced greed with gratitude Then replaced a pretty key dude It's all truth not being rude Making love now, not mistakes Working hard instead of looking for breaks Came all the way from the eighth Great Lake And found 37 reasons to stay
I was looking for some heaven There's no need to look no more California 37 Took me right to heaven's door Knock knock, woah oh Rock and Roll California 37 took me right to heaven's door
I was looking for some heaven There's no need to look no more California 37 Took me right to heaven's door
Okay, I just had me a time with the italics, large, larger, and largest functions. For those of you not in the know, Pat is divorced with two kids. He remarried in 2004 or 2005. And he had two kids with his new wife and they are very happy. Obviously, that first marriage not so much. And they are still not getting along. However, I have seen pics of him and his two oldest kids and they are great with their dad. He doesn't talk much about they whys and wherefores of it all, but clearly it is not good! See the italicized portions for clarification.
There was speculation that Train would not bounce back. Pat talks about this in a Studio Session that I will post in a later blog. When you have discord in a band about your "sound," you have discord. They needed unity about who they were. Apparently in order to get that unity they had to pare down the band. Well, core values and goals are a must. If your destination isn't the same you will always be tugging at each other and spinning your wheels. It is a strange sort of marriage. I love the part about how they turned it around: replaced greed with gratitude and then working hard instead of looking for breaks. They realized it wasn't working at the root, which explained the lack of success on their last two albums prior to Save Me, San Francisco, which had the hit Hey Soul Sister on it. However, something had to give. And that was it. They had to strive for gratitude and hard work. And when they did, it turned everything around. They made something incredible.
Let's look at one more song for fun. This is their current single. It even has a video. As you will soon see, it is stylistically very different from everything else on the album. I love the lyrics. I love the beat. Actually, I love everything about this song. Just LOVE it.
Isn't that hilarious? I freakin' love the video, too.
They just put this T-shirt up for sale on Train's Official Website, due to fan outcry, after Pat wore it on a morning talk show. It was previously only available at the concert. Now you can buy it on their website. I wish it came in purple...
Stay tuned for more Train and some cool 3-4 minute Studio Sessions with Train to see how the new record came together. I think you tend to like a band better when you feel like you have a better sense of who the people actually are. And they are always just people. It's when they let you in and get to know them a little bit, you can see that they are really COOL people.
Stay away from those crappy Purple Scions everyone. They can be killers... lol.
all images except the T-shirt found on facebook, of course where the crazy people live
you can find the T-shirt on Train's official website
